'Francis or Fran' said to haunt Middleboro Town Hall

On this April Fools Day, people are still wondering if a spirit haunts Middleboro Town Hall.

Alice C. Elwell

On this April Fools Day, people are still wondering if a spirit haunts Middleboro Town Hall.

Two local ghost hunters say they recently found evidence of paranormal presences in the 135-year-old building, while another group wants to do its own investigation, armed with infrared cameras, sound recorders and night vision viewers.

Several town leaders say they’ve heard inexplicable sounds in the building’s grand ballroom late at night, while another official who sometimes works into the evening has not detected signs of a specter wandering the old structure.

And now, a psychic from Utah has come up with a profile of the Town Hall ghost: a woman in her mid-30s, wearing a long dress with a high neckline, hair tucked up, standing very straight.

“I felt her at the top of the stairs,” said Serenity Moore, a psychic medium from that western state. “I want to say her name is Francis or Fran.”

Is the uproar over the Middleboro Town Hall ghost a lot of tomfoolery — or are these ghost hunters onto something?

There have been reports of unusual sightings at Town Hall for years. Last month, Ed Beaulieu of Middleboro and Len Anderson of Bridgewater, both active with the Paranormal Institute of New England, performed the first ghostly investigation of the building.

They presented selectmen with evidence they said proves there’s a haunting. They recorded a voice that some thought was crying, “Help me!” and they found so-called “orbs” floating in several digital pictures they shot.

The pair asked for time to do another investigation, and gather more data.

Meanwhile, Quincy ghost investigator Tom Ventosi, vice president of Mass Paranormal, attended the same selectmen’s meeting and convinced Chairwoman Marsha L. Brunelle to take him on a tour of the building.

That’s how Moore got involved. She is the “psychic medium” for Ventosi’s group.
As Ventosi explored the historic building, Moore began a “remote reading” via cell phone from Utah.

“I was actually feeling the spirit,” said Moore. “She was showing me a fire. I feel like maybe she’s worried about a child.” Moore added the ghost is confused, “she doesn’t want to leave.”

The mention of a fire stirred memories of one of Middleboro’s most memorable days — a Town Hall riot more than a century ago. The brouhaha was reported in The Enterprise on July 6, 1903.

“The Fourth here was the liveliest the town has ever seen, and will go down in history as one of the most exciting days ever seen in Middleboro,” The Enterprise reported.
In the early hours of July 4, 1903, Town Hall came under siege, wagons were burned, houses and barns caught fire, and bonfires were set throughout the downtown.

According to Antiquarian magazine, published by the town’s historical association, the mob responsible for the riot was led by members of the Reformers, a political group.
Police from Brockton and sheriff officers from Plymouth were called in to assist in quelling the disturbance. Exactly what triggered the incident was not clear.

Those arrested were all men but Moore, the Utah psychic, is convinced her perception of the Town Hall ghost is linked to the riot.

“I was actually seeing the riot ... the fires ... the smoke,” Moore said about her “remote reading” when the 1903 Enterprise account of the uprising was read to her later. She claims the riot had a profound effect on the woman who haunts Town Hall.

“It’s connected, the fire validates it.” Maybe the woman was hiding in the building when the mob was ransacking the town, Moore speculated.

“It impacted her life, now she’s stuck in Town Hall or won’t leave,” she said.

When the names of the arrested men were read to Moore, she identified one of them as the woman's connection.

Moore is planning to visit Middleboro next month to conduct her own investigation.
“I want to come there and find out why she’s staying there. I plan to dig through the obituaries,” in search of the ghost woman’s name, Moore said.

As soon as she sees the name, Moore said she will know it. “The feeling will be right there.”